CityLink would like to announce the availability of a peering facility on Level 48 of the Sky Tower in Auckland. This will be a neutral peering facility using an ethernet switch supported with a local unix box and UPS. The unix box will run mrtg for traffic statistics and NOCMON for port monitoring. Statistics will be available to peering users on their ports only on application. Users will be able to establish bilateral peering arrangements or in conjunction with users, we will establish a unilateral peering facility. The unix box will also offer a route server and reflector along with an AS number for users who may not currently have an AS of their own. CityLink will also operate an independent (pre-CIDR) address space for users to use for unilateral peering. The facility will be managed from Wellington using CityLink's established 24x7 support facility. Local hands on support will be sub-contracted to a local supplier. Access to the facility is available for a connection fee of $750.00 + GST and a monthly support fee of $62.50. Customer ports will be restricted to a limited number of MAC addresses to ensure some degree of security between customers. CityLink is a Network Operator based in Wellington with a large IP network based on a 40km fiber cable network. It operates the neutral Wellington Internet Exchange with approximately 12 connected Internet Service Providers. Its network has approximately 20 switches installed in a distributed switching fabric. Q1 - Why are you doing this ? CityLink has experience in neutral switching and IX operations in high bandwidth applications. CityLink operates a MAC based metropolitan area network with multiple ISPs Q2. Will there be a link between the Wellington IX and APE ? The ISP community provides this connectivity at the present time. It is not expected that CityLink will provide this facility. Q3. Does this mean that CityLink will be operating a network in Auckland ? No. We see that we can add value and experience in operating a neutral exchange in Auckland. Q4 - Aren't you scared of heights ? 48 Floors ? YES. Power poles ? No. Q5 - What will be there ? A 6 foot rack with nice gear in it. At this stage the rack has a UPS and Unix box and a small switch. The switch will grow as traffic and port requirements demand. Q6 - Where will spares be held ? Spare and hardware service will be provided locally in Auckland. Q7 - I want to join - How do I get signed up or find out more ? Send email to info(a)citylink.co.nz or phone 04-917-0200 Q8 - When will the service be live ? We expect to be installed and operating by 20 June 1999. Q9 - What sort of switch will be in APE ? At this stage we have a Cisco ethernet switch in the cabinet. We are talking with other suppliers about what options are available. Our experience is that we often grow a switch capacity as demand rises. We have a number of switches in Wellington and swap them out as the port count requires. (we have yet to see a bandwidth limitation) Q10 - Why are you charging ? We are charging on a simple cost recovery basis. We feel that if the peering point is free then it is abused. If a charge is levied then users will appreciate that management is applied to the exchange. CityLink is not a huge organisation and needs to recover some of its costs. The costs mentioned above should not be a barrier to likely user organisations. [ends] richard.naylor(a)citylink.co.nz This mail message contains information that is confidential and which may be subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, distribute or copy this message. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and erase this mail. --------- To unsubscribe from nznog, send email to majordomo(a)list.waikato.ac.nz where the body of your message reads: unsubscribe nznog